Cherry-stemming device.



R. S. THOMPSON; CHERRY STEMMING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 14, 1911.

Patented Apr.9, 1912.

ROY S. THOMPSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHERRY-STEMMING DEVICE.

Application filed April 14, 1911.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Serial No. 621,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROY S. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cherry-StemmingDevices, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved form ofcherry stemming machine, whereby the stems of cherries may be removedquickly and with certainty by mechanical means without injury to thecherries.

An illustrative construction for accomplishing this object is shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transverse section ofa cherry stemming machine constructed according to this invention. Fig.2 is a side elevation of the same, the line AA indicating the plane ofsection of Fig. 1.

In the construction shown, the machine comprises an inclined trough 1, afeed hopper 2 at the upper end of the trough, a stem collectingreceptacle below the trough, and a suitable receptacle for receiving thecherries discharged from the trough. The trough comprises inclinedstationary side walls 2, a bottom made up of a pair of belts 3, each ofwhich is mounted to traverse a guide member 4: and roller 5 in suchmanner that the upper laps of the belts 3 will travel toward each otherand pass downward in substantial contact with each other at the middleof the trough. The rollers 5 and guides 4 are inclined transversely tothe direction of travel of the belts, as will appear from Fig. 2, andextend substantially throughout the length of the trough. One or both ofthe guides 1 is mounted to yield toward and away from the other, therelative movement being yieldingly resisted by means of springs 6 at theends of the guides.

The guides 1 are preferably non-rotatable bars having their opposedfaces substantially flat and parallel and being so formed that thegutter formed at 7 where the belts turn downward along the middle lineof the trough will allow the stems of the cherries to be drawn into it,but will be too small for the cherries to enter. It is preferred toallow considerable slackness in the belts 3 so as to reduce the wearthereof in their passage over the guides, and in order to insure drivingrelation of the belts with the rollers 5, in case such slackness existseither intentionally or through stretching of the belts in service,pressure rollers 8 are pro-' vided which bear on the belts adjacent tothe peripheries of the rollers 5. These are normally urged against therollers by springs 9.

Rotary brushes 10 are journaled below the rollers 5 so as to havecontact with the belts and keep the surfaces thereof clean. Thesebrushes 10 preferably rotate in the same direction as the rollers 5, sothat their peripheries will travel in a direction opposite to that ofthe belts along the lines of contact with the belts. Suitable gearingand driving mechanism is provided as illustrated and power is applied atthe pulley 11. Be tween the trough 1 and feed hopper 2, there isarranged a conveyer 12, comprising a belt provided with shoulders orcleats 13, whereby the cherries are raised from the feed hopper anddischarged a few at a time into the trough.

During the operation of the machine, the belts 3 are continuouslydriven, as is also the conveyer 12. The conveyer 12 carries the cherriesupward and discharges them a few at a time into the trough 1, andwhatever may be their position as they strike the belts, they willcommence to roll down the trough and also be carried sidewise toward thecenter of the trough, due to the travel of the belts. The stemsnaturally fall into contact with the belts and the combined action ofthe tendency of the cherries to roll down the hopper and of the belts 3to carry whatever has contact with them toward the gutter 7, quicklycauses the stems to enter the gutter and to be pulled down into thespace between the guides 4 by the belts. The pressure of the springs 6causes the belts to tightly grip each stem as it enters the gutter 7 andto withdraw it straight downward from the cherry, which, immediatelyupon being freed from the stem, rolls freely down the trough into areceptacle which is provided at the lower end of the trough forreceiving the cherries, but which is not shown in the drawings. Thestems fall into another receptacle indicated at 14 in Fig. 2, which alsoreceives any waste matter brushed from the belts by the brushes 10. Theyielding of the guides, of course, allows them to separate toaccommodate the thickness of the stems, but insures that they willalways have a proper grip upon the stems for pulling them out of thecherries.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described, it will be understood that numerous details of theconstruction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from thespirit of this invention, as defined by the following claims.

I claim 1. A fruit stemming device, comprising an inclined trough alongwhich the fruit may roll, a pair of guides extending in parallelrelation to each other along the middle of said trough, a pair of beltsforming the bottom of said trough and mounted to travel toward eachother over said guides and then downward between them, whereby the stemsof the fruit will be swung by said belts into alinement with said guidesand then be drawn into the space between said guides and be pulled fromthe fruit.

2. A fruit stemming device, comprising an inclined trough along whichthe fruit may roll, a pair of guides extending in parallel relation toeach other along the middle of said trough, a pair of belts forming thebottom of said trough and mounted to travel toward each other over saidguides and then downward between them, whereby the stems of the fruitwill be swung by said belts into alinement with said guides and then bedrawn into the space between said guides and be pulled from the fruit,and one of said tom of said trough and mounted to travel toward eachother over said guides and then downward between them, whereby the stemsof the fruit will be swung by said belts into alinement with said guidesand then be drawn into the space between said guides and be pulled fromthe fruit, one of said guides being mounted to yield relatively to theother to vary the space between them, and means normally urging saidyielding guide toward the other.

4. A cherry stemmer, comprising an inclined trough, a pair of rollersjournaled on axes extending parallel with said trough and spaced apartat opposite sides of the middle thereof, a pair of guides extendingalong the middle line of said trough between said rollers and havingtheir opposed faces substantially flat and parallel, belts carried bysaid rollers and guides, and means for rotating said rollers to drivesaid belts toward each other over said guides.

Signed at Chicago this 11th day of April 1911.

ROY S. THOMPSON. ,Vitnesses EUGENE A. RUMMLER, EDWIN PHELPS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

